Jens Ritter
Jens Ritter is a German artist. He grew up in a musical environment which aroused his passion and love for the electric guitar culture. In his first creative childhood attempts, Jens has built "electric guitars" out of wire, cookie jars and waste wood and created speaker cabinets using loudspeakers of defective TVs from local dumps. Through this exciting tinkering Ritter discovered his love and passion of expressing himself through creating electric guitar culture related objects and thereby becoming later in his life a part of this culture.
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sculpting sounds
ARTIST STATEMENT
"For me, creating my artworks is like writing songs. Just like a musician processes and communicates his feelings and thoughts through music, I communicate mine through my works of art. Some of them tell whole stories about my life's extraordinary experiences. Others just reflect fleeting impressions that I consciously or unconsciously came across in everyday life."
Biography
Jens Ritter is a German artist. He grew up in a musical environment which aroused his passion and love for the electric guitar culture. In his first creative childhood attempts, Jens has built "electric guitars" out of wire, cookie jars and waste wood and created speaker cabinets using loudspeakers of defective TVs from local dumps. Through this exciting tinkering Ritter discovered his love and passion of expressing himself through creating electric guitar culture related objects and thereby becoming later in his life a part of this culture.
After his studies of mechanical arts, Ritter focused on designing and crafting avant-garde guitars for Prince, Lady Gaga, George Benson, Nile Rodgers, Mary J. Blige, Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, Sammy Hagar of Van Halen and other major music production artists.
But Jens Ritter went further – he finally transformed his electric guitars from "musician's work tools" into high exclusive collector pieces for the fine art world. These art works are materialized songs – Jens Ritter's music.
Today his exclusive masterpieces are owned by famous musicians and collectors from around the world and Jens Ritter has become known as... "The fusion of Stradivarius and Picasso!”
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Education
2006
Design Coaching by Luigi Colani
1997-1999
Audio-visual graphic production at Malinowski Group / Germany
1996
IHK-Scholarship in Vancouver / Canada
1995
IHK-Scholarship in San Francisco / USA
1994-1996
Academy of technical arts Ludwigshafen / Germany
1994
IHK-Scholarship in New York City / USA
1989-1993
Apprenticeship of metalworking and –finishing
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Solo Exhibitions
2018
Barchie's Tokyo / Japan
Kurosawa Tokyo / Japan
2016
Barchie's Tokyo / Japan
2015
MPK Art Museum Kaiserslautern / Germany
2014
"Art of Electric Guitars" - Retrospective Exhibition at the Neustadt Art Foundation / Germany
2013
RUDY'S SOHO Gallery / New York City, USA
2011
"PI Guitar" presentation at the APPLE Store NEW YORK CITY by Star Photographer Jonathan Singer
2010
Symbolic Art Gallery / San Diego, USA
2008
Revolution Gallery / Oakville, Canada
Wynn Hotel / Las Vegas - USA
2007
Frankfurt Airport / Frankfurt Main, Germany
President-Palace / Abu Dhabi, UAE
2006
Gale Music / Toronto, Canada
2005
CMB / Barcelona, Spain
Huebner Gallery / Mannheim, Germany
Kurosawa / Tokyo, Japan
2004
RUDYS / New York City, USA
Metallidis / Athens, Greece
2003
California Bass / Paris, France
2002
A&V Gallery / Ludwigshafen, Germany
B-Gallery / London, Great Britain
2001
RUDYS / New York City, USA
2000
GIAMPIETRO / New Heaven, USA
1998
LIVE-LIGHTS / Muenchen, Germany
1997
STATION M. / Aschaffenburg, Germany
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Group Exhibitions and Fairs
2019
NAMM / Los Angeles – USA
2018
Guitar Summit / Mannheim - Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles – USA
2017
Holygrail Guitar Show / Berlin – Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles – USA
Guitar Summit / Mannheim - Germany
2016
Holygrail Guitar Show / Berlin – Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles – USA
2015
Holygrail Guitar Show / Berlin - Germany
MES CREATEURS JOAILLIERS / Paris – France
NAMM / Los Angeles – USA
2014
Holygrail Guitar Show / Berlin - Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles – USA
2013
Healdsburg Guitar Show /Santa Rosa California – USA
Musikmesse / Frankfurt – Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles – USA
2012
Montreal Jazz Festival / Montreal - Canada
Musikmesse / Frankfurt – Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles – USA
2011
Montreal Jazz Festival / Montreal - Canada
Musikmesse / Frankfurt – Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles – USA
2010
Montreal Jazz Festival / Montreal - Canada
Musikmesse / Frankfurt – Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles – USA
2009
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles - USA
2008
Musikmesse / Frankfurt – Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles - USA
NAMM / Nashville - USA
2007
Musac / Dubai – United Arabian Emirates
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles - USA
NAMM / Austin-Texas – USA
Thailand Luxury Expo / Bangkok - Thailand
2006
Emirates Millionaire Show / Abu Dhabi – UAE
NAMM / Austin-Texas – USA
NAMM / Los Angeles - USA
2005
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
NAMM / Indianapolis – USA
NAMM / Los Angeles - USA
2004
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles - USA
NAMM / Nashville - USA
Stromgitarren / Mannheim – Germany
2003
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles - USA
2002
Hannover-Messe Division Innovative Designs / Hannover - Germany
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
NAMM / Los Angeles - USA
2001
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
2000
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
1999
KAMMGARN / Kaiserslautern - Germany
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
1998
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
1997
CALIFORNIA CENTER / New York City - USA
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
1996
Musikmesse / Frankfurt - Germany
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Awards
2016
Winner of German State Price Award for Arts & Crafts
2013
Winner of NAMM Award "Best Instrument of the Show"
2005
Winner of Talkbass poll “World’s most beautiful handmade instrument”
Winner of State Designprice of Rheinland Pfalz / Germany
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Selected Publications
Robb Report, Emarat Al Youm Dubai, Las Vegas Sun, Die Zeit, Kempinski Magazine, Kunstraum Metropol, San Diego Journal, Thailand Millionaire Magazine, Die Rheinpfalz, Revelations Catalogue, FAZ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Rubensteins, Bildzeitung, Chefs!, Nippon Epress, Guitar Aficionado, Smartlife, Handelsblatt, Carved, Traditional Jewelers, Ubi Bene, Wish Report, Bachendorf's Accent, Pixx Magazine, Koeln Express, Gary's, Bass Player, Davison Magazine Singapore, Guitar World Magazin TV Documentaries, CBS-News, ARD Germany, SWR Germany,